"Pirozzi's Italian Deli (formerly Pirozzi's Food Center), is one of the few notable San Pedro Businesses that is still around from the 1970's. Vince Pirozzi purchased the building where Peterson's Market was on 8th and Weymouth in 1974 and soon changed the market's name to Pirozzi's Food Center. In 1983, Pirozzi sold the market(but kept the building) and it remained named as Pirozzi's until 2000...Wanting to get back into the Deli Business, Vince and his family opened Pirozzi's Italian Deli in October 2012 in the same location as their former market, much to the delight of San Pedran's missing a good, old-fashion Italian Deli in the neighborhood. But age and time have a way of sneaking up on people, and Pirozzi, now in his early 70's felt like it was time to step back from his life's work amd relax for once...The Pirozzi's sold the business. but not the building."

"In fact, more than a year later, people are still unaware that Pirozzi's Italian Deli is no longer in the hands of the Pirozzi's family. It wasn't necessarily a secret, it just wasn't something the Tomans(John and Debbie), both lifelong San Pedrans felt needed to be broadcast to the community.

Just like the sale of the business, John and Debbie didn't broadcast the Croatian menu additions either...Like any legit Croatian chef, Debbie learned all she knows about cooking from her mother and grandmother. Those family recipes have slowly crept into the deli's kitchen, and now, in addition to managing the business, she's hard at work in the kitchen creating food she ate as a child and eventually fed her five children.